Richard Whalley

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN COMPOSITION 2009

Composer's Biography

Richard Whalley

Navigating a pathway between seemingly contradictory qualities of intimacy and playfulness or quirkiness, the music of Richard Whalley is often driven by a preoccupation with the sensuous and/or physical impact of music, together with applying fresh or unexpected approaches to familiar musical concepts such as melody, variation, juxtaposition etc. He was a finalist in the 1992 BBC Young Musician of the Year Composers’ Award and the 2001 Gaudeamus Music Week, and was featured in Ensemble Aleph’s Second Forum for Composers in 2002/3. His music has been performed by numerous ensembles and soloists throughout the UK, and in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US. Whalley was appointed as lecturer in composition at the University of Manchester in 2004, where he runs the new music ensemble, Vaganza. He studied music at University of York (1992-96), gaining an MA in Composition with Roger Marsh in 1996, before earning a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Composition at Harvard University (1997-2003), with Mario Davidovsky and Joshua Fineberg. As a pianist his repertoire extends from Bach and Beethoven to Nancarrow and Ligeti, and he has premiered a number of works including Camden Reeves’s Diablo Canyon and Kevin Malone’s M’Bongo. More information at www.richardwhalley.com.

Prize-Winning Work: Advanced Level

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